The Devil to Pay

After selling his house and belongings in East Africa, Willie Hale returns home to England, where he buys a dog with most of his remaining money. Lord Leeland, his wealthy father, is frustrated with Willie’s many failed ventures but still offers him a small lifeline in the form of £100 for spending money.

Upon re-entering the social circle, Willie runs into his old flame, the theatre star Mary Crayle, a meeting that rekindles old memories even as it hints at the fragility of his current finances. Soon after, he encounters family friend and heiress Dorothy Hope, and the trio—Willie, Dorothy, and his sister Susan—make their way to the Derby. It’s there that Willie’s luck seems to turn: he wins a substantial sum on a 50-to-1 longshot, a victory that stuns the crowd and stirs new possibilities.

Dorothy, seeing a different side of Willie, breaks her engagement to Grand Duke Paul, deciding that the bankrupt but charming Willie is the man she would rather have. Willie, though reluctant about a romantic entanglement, finds himself drawn to Dorothy’s boldness and charm. The turning point comes when her father makes the harsh condition explicit: Dorothy will be disinherited if she chooses Willie. Under this pressure, Willie proposes, and Dorothy accepts—but only if he vows never to see Mary again.

Willie cannot bring himself to deliver the news by letter or telephone, so he waits outside the theater to speak directly with Mary. The scene at her home becomes the emotional hinge of the story, as he finally tells her about the engagement. To protect Dorothy’s interests, Mr. Hope, Dorothy’s father, hires a detective agency to shadow Willie, fueling a precarious game of trust and suspicion.

Dorothy, seeking reassurance and perhaps a little payback, has Mary call on the telephone, and when Willie answers, Dorothy’s heart breaks in silence. Willie’s attempt to explain himself is met with a complicated mix of misinterpretation and emotion. Dorothy responds by paying him £5,000, a sum she believes proves he had been chasing an inheritance. She is astonished when he accepts the money and leaves whistling, a gesture that complicates the moral landscape of their relationship.

Yet Willie’s intentions are not to keep the money. Learning that Paul is destitute, he sends the money to Paul, using Dorothy’s name as a conduit. Paul’s note of thanks reaches Dorothy, and this act both flatters and disillusions her father, who begins to see the consequences of his daughter’s choices. The reconciliation between Willie and Dorothy unfolds in quiet, stubborn terms before Willie sails for New Zealand to pursue a sheep-farming dream, a move that signals a new chapter in his life and a test of the fragile goodwill that has sustained them thus far.

Before the final departure, Dorothy’s father contemplates the future, even suggesting the possibility of purchasing Willie a farm in England. Lord Leeland, ever practical and guarded, finds a certain irony in the turn of events: it will be Mr. Hope’s money—money tied to a distant, perhaps precarious future—that could be at stake if Willie’s new venture fails. The story ends on a note of tempered optimism mixed with the lingering awareness of the risks that come with ambition, love, and a family’s expectations.

Last Updated: November 22, 2025 at 16:00